#Diamondbacks vs. A’s prediction: Take Under in Merrill Kelly-Jesus Luzardo matchup

Two years ago, Merrill Kelly was pitching in South Korea. Now he’s a starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks and has a top-five ERA among qualified NL starters. On Wednesday, he will battle rising star Jesus Luzardo in Oakland.

Kelly has given tremendous length, going at least six innings in all of his starts this season, walking just three to go with a 1.71 ERA.

Luzardo did not respond well to having his start against the San Francisco Giants moved up a day, but has a 3.58 ERA with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings across his first career 11 appearances.

Oakland backs up Luzardo with the best bullpen ERA in the AL, Arizona is last in the NL in home runs per game. With Oakland ranking 25th in MLB in home batting average and strikeout percentage, it should lead to a pair of ascending stars being on their ‘A’ game.

The play: Diamondbacks-Athletics total, Under 8¹/₂ runs.